Qin Nan placed the painting on the ground, and slowly unfolded the somewhat yellowed painting bit by bit. When the painting was halfway open, he couldn't help but froze for a second, and then unfolded the painting.
Fully unfolded.
Wu Haotian couldn't help but frowned when he saw the painting. He didn't know what he was thinking. Zeng Li on the side also glanced away. When he saw the fully unfolded painting on the ground, his eyes widened.
From the look in her eyes, you seem to be showing a bit of fear.
This painting is exactly like the rumor Zeng Li told. It is a portrait, painted with a brush. The man is wearing a pointed black hat, completely covering his eyes.
Only the nostrils and mouth were left, but strangely, the corners of the portrait's mouth were raised a bit. What made Zeng Li feel horrified was that the black line outlining the edge of the mouth actually had a faint dark red color.
It looks like dried blood.
"How about we close this painting? It looks weird." Zeng Li swallowed and said.
Qin Nan saw that there was nothing special about this painting, but it looked simple and a bit scary, so he closed it and placed it on the table.
Qin Nan sighed and walked around the house twice. He felt that this house was very strange. It had no windows.
Qin turned on the flashlight and found that there were many large and small spider webs on the beams here. What made him feel a little strange was that the beams inside the house looked relatively dry.
There was no sign of mold. He looked around the room again with a flashlight and saw a lot of white powder scattered in the corners. He squatted down, stretched out his hand and rubbed it.
Then he tried to smell it, and the corners of his mouth turned up.
This room was originally a place for coffins. Looking at the size of the room, it seems that it can only accommodate eight people. The plaster on the four corners of the room is also very particular.
To be precise, it is quicklime. The quicklime on the ground is slightly damp. The quicklime has a certain hygroscopic effect. Although the effect is not obvious, fortunately, the amount of quicklime in this house is relatively large.
In the past, this room was used to place coffins. The air in this grandma's temple was very humid, so the coffins were placed in this small room.
In this way, the moisture-absorbing effect of quicklime can be greatly exerted. However, the quicklime on the ground has begun to become damp, and it seems that it will not have much effect.
Qin Nan stood up, patted the lime on his hands, and found something black that seemed to be buried in the pile of lime in the corner.
He walked forward slowly and peeled away the surrounding lime bit by bit. At this time, he discovered an unpainted puppet. This puppet was somewhat similar to the "god statue" in his grandma's temple.
This doll was only about 20 centimeters tall, but its head was not covered with linen or anything like that. Qin Nan took a closer look and found that this doll had no eyes.
Every carving on the body looks a little rough, but the right hand of the statue is very detailed. It also has its index finger extended, pointing to the opposite corner.
Qin Nan turned around and looked, but didn't find anything, so he walked to the door of the room. If he followed the direction of the statue's finger,
Directly opposite the room where they were, there was also a small room. The room looked about the same size as an ordinary pavilion, and it was also a tiled room.
It's just that the house opposite looks a bit strange. It has no door, but a wall standing inside the house. From the entire angle, it looks like the house has no door.
Moreover, the small house was leaning against the hillside behind, which made Qin Nan feel a little strange.
Qin Nan narrowed his eyes and seemed to be thinking about something, so he said to Zeng Li and Wu Haotian:
"Come on, let's go check out that room over there."
Zeng Li had already rummaged through the room, but found nothing valuable except for the scrolls and the rough dolls. Now her way to make a fortune could only be in the room opposite.
She patted the lime on her hand. Suddenly she frowned and walked to Qin Nan with a look of horror on her face and asked:
"Cousin, what are these white things? They can't be ashes or something like that."
"..." Qin Nan stopped, looked at it with a speechless expression, and then told her about the quicklime, and Zeng Li felt relieved.
Several people arrived at the door of the small house. Qin Nan stepped into the threshold and walked around the wall inside. As soon as she walked around the wall, she was so frightened that she leaned against the wall behind.
Zeng Li also screamed when she saw it, and Wu Haotian also narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw what was placed behind the wall.
Because what the three of them saw was the long-missing "god statue" that was more than one meter high.
However, this statue does not have a face with black wrinkles as rumored. Instead, it is a skull. This white skeleton seems to be several years old, and some black mold spots can be seen on the bones.
However, this corpse is the same as the one in the rumors. It is dressed in black linen and is squatting on the ground. It also holds a crutch in its hand, but the crutch does not have the bead Zeng Li mentioned.
But there is a depression at the top of the crutch.
Qin Nan swallowed, calmed down for a while, and then began to investigate the bones. He took a few photos of the bones and gave them to Wu Fayi.
After a while, Wu Fayi called.
"Hey, Brother Qin, you are too scary. You sent me these photos during the Chinese New Year." Wu Fayi complained.
"Sorry, sorry, I was so urgent that you called me. You should know the condition of this body, right?" Qin Nan asked.
Wu Fayi on the other side of the phone suddenly went silent, as if he was working on something. Not long after, Wu Fayi turned on the speakerphone and said:
"This skeleton has completely turned into white bones. Judging from the condition, it should have been around for several decades. Judging from the pelvis, it is a female skeleton. However, this skeleton can still maintain this posture after so many years.
I think there must be other special reasons or protection..."
"Other special reasons... The air here is relatively humid, and there is some green moss on the bones. Is there any special reason..." Qin Nan asked.
"Moss? Brother Qin, haven't you gone back to your hometown? It's snowing all over Yunchang now. Where did the moss come from?" Wu Fayi asked.
"Humph, I'm in my hometown now, but my place is a bit strange. The one or two hundred meters around the yard are full of birds singing and the fragrance of flowers." Qin Nan said.
"What place? So magical?!" Wu Fayi asked.
"Have you ever heard of Grandma's Temple? My cousin brought me here. It's really...forget it, there are some things I can't say. If you have a chance in the next few days, come and take a look." Qin Nan said.
"Brother Qin, you're still trying to trick me, okay, but I'll give you a clue too. We'll definitely meet in the same place soon, I can guarantee it," Wu Fayi said.
"Haha, where?" Qin Nan asked with a smile.
"You will know when the time comes. If you still don't understand anything, just ask me and hang up first!" Wu Fayi then hung up the phone.
"This kid..." Qin Nan put down the phone, but he felt more and more that his tone of voice sounded more and more like a forty-year-old middle-aged uncle.
Qin Nan looked at the corpse carefully again. He really didn't know much about the human body and could only see if there was anything suspicious. However, the corpse was indeed quite old.
Moreover, it would be difficult to file a case if the police were called, and no marks such as stab wounds were found on the body, so it seemed to be a natural death.
If the story Zeng Li told is true, it is very likely that the old woman would have died at that time.
Qin Nan finally moved his eyes to the hands of the corpse. The left hand of the corpse was supporting the crutches, and the right hand was hanging on the ground. However, the phalanges of the right hand were tied with a loose linen cloth, which seemed to have been tied before she was alive.
,
If they were bound after death, these fingers would not be bent like this.
He couldn't help but frown when he noticed the index finger of the corpse, because the index finger of the corpse pointed in the direction of Lao Lao Temple...
(The events of this chapter take place on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year)